Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for removing floating waste and, more particularly, to a system and method for removing floating waste, which can more effectively remove waste than in conventional systems.
The present invention is embodied, for example, in a water purification robot that takes advantage of natural phenomena to purify water. The water purification robot includes an impeller and a pump or speed increaser that drives the impeller. Therefore, the water purification robot is flexible in removing various kinds of pollutants from water. In addition, the water purification robot can be anchored to the bed of a river that has a large amount of floating waste, so that the water purification robot can be installed at any place. In short, the prevent invention relates to a system for easily removing floating waste and a method for easily removing floating waste using the same system.
The present invention particularly relates to a system for easily removing floating waste and a method for easily removing floating waste using the same system, in which the system includes an impeller and a pump or speed increaser that drives the impeller, is structured to be anchored to the bed of a river that has a large amount of floating waste, and a plurality of the systems may be tied to a cleaning ship using a towing rope, enabling floating waste that floats over a large area of water to be removed in relatively short time.
The present invention more particularly relates to a system for removing floating waste (also, hereinafter referred to as floating-water-removing system) and a method for removing floating waste (also, hereinafter referred to as floating-waste-removing method) using the same system, the system being structured such that: a plurality of the systems may be arranged to be tied to a cleaning ship using a towing rope so that the systems can be moved by the cleaning ship; the systems are equipped with respective storage filters, each having an inlet, an internal impeller, and a storage portion; the storage filters can be detached from respective storage filter supports mounted in the systems so that the storage filters rise to the surface of water by buoyancy when the storage filters are filled with floating waste after the systems operate for long hours while the systems are anchored to the bed of a body of water; the floated storage filters can be recovered to the cleaning ships; and the storage filters can be reused after being cleaned. The system according to the present invention enables a cleaning operation of removing floating waste from water to be continuously performed.
Description of the Related Art
People cannot live without water because water is an essential element to sustain life.
Rivers around us are not only a source of drinking water but also a base for economic activities. In addition, rivers are a tourist attraction, contributing to development of local communities.
Accordingly, managing water quality of rivers is not only beneficial to local communities but also is a way of securing life.
However, although the importance of water quality management is increasingly emphasized, the number of kinds and the amount of pollutants are increasing.
Among various kinds of pollutants, floating waste that is lighter than water and thus floats down a river is specifically posing a problem.
For reference, the amount of floating waste occurring in 2006 was six times larger the previous year's amount.
Moreover, water supply sources become full of floating waste in the rainy season every year. In order to solve this problem, the Korean government spends several tens of billions won, which is significant amount.
Furthermore, since floating waste flows with the current of a river, the floating waste continuously causes environment pollution by spreading over a large area.
That is, floating waste that remains without being collected or removed may end up polluting the entire area of a river. In greater detail, the floating waste decays in water, causing an offensive odor and forming a film on the water surface, which prevents oxygen in air from entering into the water. Therefore, the entire ecological system in the river is jeopardized.
In fact, in 2009 the Korean government implemented an extensive nation-wide measure for removing waste near rivers, and therefore the amount of waste which flowed into rivers during the year was reduced to 44% compared to that of the previous year although the rainfall recorded was higher than ever.
However, the water-cleaning effect obtained through such sporadic and temporary measures was not sustainable because such measures were performed by redundant public officers who are non-specialists in such operations.
Under the current situation in which the problem of floating waste is serious, there is no system that can continuously and consistently remove floating waste, the existence of which is affected by the surface stream of a river.
FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an apparatus for removing floating waste from water according to a related art.
As illustrated in FIG. 11, the apparatus for removing floating waste according to the related art, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,979,401, is structured such that a pump is installed under the surface of water and draws in floating waste and water. Then, the water is drained and the floating waste is filtered out. That is, only the floating waste remains in an internal storage portion.
FIGS. 12A and 12B are schematic diagrams illustrating an apparatus for removing floating waste according to another related art.
As illustrated in FIGS. 12A and 12B, the apparatus according to the related art disclosed in PCT Patent Publication No. WO2014061835 A1 draws in a fluid in all directions to collect floating waste.
However, even with the related arts existing, there is still a need for development of a system and method of removing floating waste that accumulates in large volume in rivers.
Therefore, the present invention suggests a robot that can effectively collect and remove floating waste and a system for operating the same robot.